Short

[Steve gt2006]

2006 mustang gt automatic. My positive terminal keeps getting hot I think it's a short somewhere ? I hooked up a test light and plugged it into the negative and the light came on I have pulled every fuse and the test light will not go off with any of the fuses being pulled. Any other ideas what I should be checking or doing ? Thank you

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

Hi Steve. You'll find the information in this link very helpful:

https://electricverge.com/positive-battery-terminal-hot/

 

[DieHarder]

2006 mustang gt automatic. My positive terminal keeps getting hot I think it's a short somewhere ? I hooked up a test light and plugged it into the negative and the light came on I have pulled every fuse and the test light will not go off with any of the fuses being pulled. Any other ideas what I should be checking or doing ? Thank you

Where exactly are you placing the positive and negative terminals of the test light? If you're placing the negative on the negative terminal or a body ground and the positive on the battery's positive terminal the test light will light up every time. That's normal behavior.

The terminal getting hot is typically a sign of resistance in the battery cabling. Besides the recommendations in the article Dino linked it might be a good idea to consider replacing the main battery cables being that our cars battery cabling is 15+ yrs old. Cost ranges from $50 - $130 depending on what you can find. Only buy OEM (if you can find it). I replaced mine and saw a 1.5vdc improvement out of the alternator meaning my battery cables were dropping 1.5v which was essentially wasted as heat due to resistance/corrosion in the cabling.

That said, obviously cheaper/quicker to try to clean up the battery/starter terminal connections and grounds first. Get yourself a VOM and test battery output with the engine running. Then, clean every battery and ground connection and retest. If your voltage goes up you've found one of the problems (dirt/poor connections). If you're cables look old and have any green tint/corrosion recommend getting a new battery harness.

 

[Steve gt2006]

The test light only has 1 clamp and I am putting it on the negative terminal which is disconnected from the battery. Only the positive terminal is connected to the battery. The pick end of the test light is being touched to the negative post of the battery and the light of the test light is turning on. The negative terminal did have a lot of powder